Kovack Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,756 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after buying an additional 232 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in FedEx were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of FedEx by 11.0% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 133,075 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $35,254,000 after acquiring an additional 13,197 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its position in FedEx by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,655 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at $282,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FedEx by 2.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 595,122 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $157,660,000 after buying an additional 13,642 shares during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 6,145 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.02, for a total value of $1,769,882.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,265,277.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total transaction of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock valued at $37,758,773. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FDX shares. StockNews.com cut FedEx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 11th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of FedEx from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of FedEx from $306.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of FedEx in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FedEx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.33.

FedEx Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE FDX opened at $265.84 on Monday. FedEx Co. has a fifty-two week low of $213.80 and a fifty-two week high of $291.27. The stock has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $262.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.48.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. FedEx had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 5.02%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FedEx Co. will post 17.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FedEx declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the shipping service provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

FedEx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

About FedEx

FedEx Corporation provides transportation, e-commerce, and business services in the United States and internationally. It operates through FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services segments. The FedEx Express segment offers express transportation, small-package ground delivery, and freight transportation services; and time-critical transportation services.